In a record-breaking year for the international sukuk market, HSBC demonstrated why it is the world’s leading Islamic sukuk house. With broad geographic coverage, structuring innovation and regulatory credibility, the bank played a leading global role in 2024 across sovereign, corporate and financial institution issuance.
HSBC topped Bloomberg’s global sukuk league table, executing $9.7 billion in sukuk transactions across 68 deals and capturing nearly 10% global market share. The bank played a leading role in both international and domestic sukuk markets, with activity spanning Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond. It acted on more deals than any other bank in 2024, working across currencies, tenors and formats including 144A, Reg S, ESG-labelled, secured and unsecured.
Among its notable deals, HSBC acted as joint global coordinator for the inaugural $1 billion sukuk of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, which was structured using a scalable equity-based format first pioneered by HSBC for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The transaction attracted a $7 billion peak order book and priced 15 basis points inside Mubadala’s conventional bond curve – a striking result for a first-time Islamic issuer and one of the few AA-rated credits in the sukuk universe.
“Mubadala was a standout for us,” says Ali Taufeeq, head of sukuk financing at HSBC. “We were able to bring a rare AA-rated issuer to the market using a scalable, repeatable structure that has now proven its credibility. It’s a landmark both for us and for the evolution of the sukuk market.”
HSBC also brought to market a rare sukuk issuance from outside the Islamic world, acting as joint lead manager for the $500 million debut sukuk by global aircraft lessor AerCap. The transaction gave the Ireland-based issuer access to Middle Eastern and Asian Islamic liquidity pools and was priced in line with its conventional bonds. In the UAE, HSBC acted as joint global coordinator for the debut sukuk of B+ rated Binghatti Developers, raising $300 million initially, followed by a successful $200 million tap a few months later. Other notable first-time issuers included Kuwait Finance House in its inaugural senior sukuk format.
HSBC’s global platform is underpinned by on-the-ground structuring teams in Dubai, Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur, allowing the bank to deliver highly tailored transactions in the world’s most active sukuk jurisdictions
Pushing the boundaries of Islamic deal structuring, HSBC also executed the first private credit sukuk in the region for Emirates REIT, combining its debt capital markets and private credit capabilities. The $205 million secured sukuk was used to refinance a distressed instrument, reducing the coupon from 11% to 7.5%, and was rated BB+ after extensive engagement with ratings agencies.
HSBC’s global platform is underpinned by on-the-ground structuring teams in Dubai, Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur, allowing the bank to deliver highly tailored transactions in the world’s most active sukuk jurisdictions.
The bank also played a key role in ESG-labelled sukuk, supporting sustainable issuances for eight issuers in 2024, including UAE-based property developer Aldar, Saudi National Bank and the Republic of Indonesia. While such deals did not achieve clear pricing benefits, HSBC’s involvement helped deepen the Islamic sustainable finance market and align clients with national sustainability strategies and net-zero pledges.
From debut issuers and sovereigns to high-yield corporates and financial institutions, HSBC delivered benchmark transactions across all corners of the sukuk market. With unmatched structuring expertise, global coordination and regulatory insight, HSBC is the clear and deserving winner of the award for the world’s best sukuk house.
